jalan raya

entertaining themselves..

this raya

Lebih 2 bulan yang lalu..
---------------------------------
She : "I was thinking, why don't we both tempah baju dengan Uncle Haron for hari raya nak?"
Me : "Hmm.. you mean suruh dia design kan kita, and then kita nanti pakai baju almost macam sepasang eh?"
She : "YA!"


This raya I noticed..
-----------------------------
1. Blue drinks.
... in almost every house.
Is that the 'in' drink?

2. My hubby's green suit and the samping pelekat.
I like.

3. My girls want to be like me.
1st day tu, masyaAllah, diorang sendiri insist nak pakai tudung, same style like me.

4. Hadi getting taller.
I'm quite sure by next raya, my son will be taller than me.

5. Not perpetually full
this year, I managed to eat lesser than last year. this year, I don't feel perpetually full for up to a week, like i did last raya.
this year slightly better - i just don't feel hungry much. :)

Other than that, the biasa2 raya stuff.. of course very happy la, jumpa mak/bapak, aunties, uncles, bros, sisters, cuzs, niece/nephews, kucing, and keluar ramai2 jalan satu singapore. Needless to say, the children enjoyed the most. Weekend nanti masuk JB pulak.

Oh by the way, dear ppl whom I meet personally, if you have noticed by now, I'm not good with the short raya 'speech' that comes with every salam. You know, the 'selamat hari raya ya.. kalau ada tersilap, terkata, terumpat, terlompat, ter ter ter... blah blah blah.." Some people can stand there a whole 2-3 minutes, going on with all these ter-things. But I just can't. SERIOUS. I don't know how to. I don't feel like it's me.

The most that I can mutter is 'Selamat hari raya. Maaf zahir batin'. Even kat mak bapak ku, and bapak dan ibu mertua ku. Lame, I know. But of course, memang pun, i DO seek your forgiveness if i have hurt you in one way or another. (hmm.. can we do that in omputeh?)

Oh yeah another thing.. wouldn't it be nice, if after the 1st few days, kalau pun nak jalan raya, boleh tak pakai casual, macam nak gi kerja? Tak payah pening kepala pikir baju glamour apa nak pakai yang orang belum nampak raya ni.. Pakai jeans aje boleh? No?

ketupat and bunga api

This Ramadhan has been special. Some things that I've done for the 1st time in my life like iktikaf-ing in the mosque overnight with my girls. We love it.

I'll miss Ramadhan for most of the ibadah we do together, including the terawih and the iktikaf, the prayers, the Quran recitals, and the doas. And i hope we become a better person than we were, before Ramadhan. And I pray the same for you too.

In case tak berkesempatan, I'd like to say here, Eid Mubarak. Sorry exterior in interior. If have accidental rough language, accidental wrong say, accidental eat, drink, hope it's halal-ed.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

How to anyam a ketupat.
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HOKAY! I've wasted my time long enough. Need to get back to work.

songkok and samping

hubby : so nanti jangan lupa belikan hadi songkok eh?

me : eerr..hmmmmm..ok

hubby : abis kalau boleh, carikan dia samping sekali eh?

me : ha? hmm.. ye lah ok. abis u da ada kain samping?

hubby : I? I takpelah.. nanti i pakai tuala.

breaking up is hard to do..

darling sis,

stop asking what you did to deserve it. it's he, who don't deserve you.
some people are just so gatal like that.

u love him so much? do you really? do you really, really want to spend the rest of your life with someone whom you cannot trust, even now?

kalau u rasa nak balas balik, i rasa u pancetkan tayar kereta dia forget about it. just totally ignore him. he is really not worth your time.

you can bawl your eyes out today, but tomorrow, go change your hair, be a new person, ready to take on the world.

Allah is with those who are patient.

Balik kampung, not

It's an advantage that most of us kat singapore, kita tak payah balik kampung. Cause parents, siblings and family are all nearby. Yang paling 'jauh' pun, 45 min da sampai kalau drive. Tak payah lah hit the highway yang sesak dengan orang nak balik kampung jugak.

It's a disadvantage that most of us kat singapore, kita takde balik kampung. Raya kat rumah flat ni, not as meriah as kat kampung. The meriah part is only within the house la, but macam kat luar2 rumah takde ramai budak2 atau orang yang da tua bangka macam aku main bunga api. kalau main pun dengan adik beradik sendiri aje.

maybe sunday night i can bring some bunga api to the mosque?

the journey

suddenly teringat the serkam trip.. driving through jalan kampung in the early morning, in search of the 'best canai' around that area. the drive was such a bliss.

when u all watch the video, u all can imagine u're in the car also ok? oh btw, u won't hear my voice. I was just enjoying the drive and the view so much. I am actually a quiet person, not.



pink : ah..tapi i nak makan roti canai.
sb : iyeeeaaa.
Pagi tu.. tak tahu la berapa kali dia cakap dia nak makan roti canai. alhamdulillah dapat jugak. Kalau tak kempunan budak tu balik singapore.

for, God’s is the dominion over the heavens and the earth, and with God is all journeys’ end.
Al Quran, An-Nour 24:42

The Preacher

a true Muslim kan, can make any non-Muslim respect him and Islam. Just by the way he portrays himself and practising what's right. E.g. a true Muslim is God fearing, humble, honest, clean, tak la selekeh. And just by being the honest and humble person he is, he can even draw a non Muslim, a christian-protestant preacher into Islam. Masyaallah. Amazing.

This video clip tells us of such a story. It's told by this american preacher-turn-Muslim himself. That Muslim who turned the preacher into a Muslim, did not even preach or argue. And this preacher was a person who hated Muslims.

I tell you, this video is worth watching. Gi lah spare 45 mins of your time and watch it. Part his wife n him did the syahadah, i cried - I don't know what I felt, cannot explain.. macam in awe gitu.

http://www.watchislam.com/videos/video.php?vid=3

blogging superdzu

yesterday 1st time gi iftar kat luar. well, didn't really iftar kat 'luar', cause i worked late, so end up iftar in the car with pink. Suppose to meet the rest kat masjid kampung siglap - where they said the bubur is very nice. But disebabkan keadaan jalanraya yang agak sesak, at last met up kat alfiah restaurant, bedok north. First time there. Ok lah. The teh tarik is nice.













p.s.
1. What is blogging superdzu?
It means blogging with lots of nice photos. Ok lah, this post is a bit out, cause the pics are not as nice (the pics aje not nice.. the subjects are), and the ramblings... over.

2. Nothing to do with this post, but I'm falling in love with Art Fadzil's song Merindu Kepastian, from his album Nur. I should get that CD. I heard it on Dzulrena's blog. *humming the song* Gi ah dengar.. but teddie n hatta's telling me they cannot hear the song - how come i'm the only one who can hear it?? (*twilight zone*)

the tough cookie chipped again

After the visit to the doctor to have her stitches removed, she knocked on the dashboard in my car. Then I checked her wound terbuka la balik! :'(

She doesn't want to go the doctor again and I totally understand. Even though she didn't cry, I don't think she thought that it was fun to be injected and stitched over and over again. I pun tak sampai hati nak hantar dia. Anyway, the wound is smaller than the original. kalau scar pun, at the chin, cannot be seen. So I'm going to let it heal on it's own. so far so good, the wound is drying up.

And she's her usual self. Running and playing..she's ok, alhamdulillah.

I was thinking.. I should have been more careful or asked her to sit, kaza wa kaza.. but I have to accept it as takdir.

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (SAW) as saying: A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone, (but) cherish that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart,

and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and your "if" opens the (gate) for the Satan
Sahih Muslim, Book 033, Number 6441

Yan can cook!

Today, kita iftar kat rumah cik alin. Her husband is Chinese. He cooks on weekends. (examplary husband kan??? =D ) and I must say he's a good cook!

Today we had wanton noodle with chicken.. sedaaaap I tell you.

Dadha, see what you missed just now..

One tough cookie

"Hello, are you Nadhrah's mother?"
"Yes."
"This is her teacher. There has been an accident, and she's hurt."
"(oook....keep your calm..).. ok, how bad is it?"
"It's not bad, she's ok, but you need to take her to the doctor now. Can somebody fetch her?"
"(right.. if she's ok, why do we need to take her to the doctor now? how bad is 'not' bad). Ok...."

Last week Nadhrah had a slight accident. They were playing some games in class, she ran and fell. She hit the floor, and I don't know how, but her chin was koyak..

The doctor had to give her 3 stitches, but not before cleaning up the wound and giving her 4 injections to make the area numb. She didn't cry one bit throughout the whole procedure. The doctor was amazed. If fact the teacher said, she didn't cry after she fell, or while waiting to be fetched.

At home, she wouldn't let anyone else change her wound dressing, except me =D. While I was doing it, she said, "Nadhrah, takut sakit, tapi nadhrah tak nangis.. bila nadhrah rasa sakit nadhrah buat gini aje.. (she showed me how she clenched her fist and feet).

My girl, IS one tough cookie.

Korang nak tengok her stitches right?.. Here..

Ton....?

macam2 budak2 sekarang ni.. i also don't know lah.. 'ton' ni.. something used by budak2 kat singapore aje.. or is it common also in malaysia? but I learnt a new slang. 'ton' = overnight..

I've also heard of 'baju' and 'butang'.. baju = 'gang' as in.."dia orang sama baju ke?' and butang is the leader I think..

I learned of this 'ton' word, kat this cartoon sketch, courtesy of the talented, hardworking, visionary bro hafiz jenggo.

(click on image to get bigger size, to enable u to read the small fonts. After you click here, later kat image, ada a small icon on the bottom right hand corner - of a pic with 4 arrows outwards - click on that to make the img even bigger.)

soon..

I was going to meet Pink, that day after work. We were planning and confirming the place, time, where to hang out semua, by email. Then in the last email of the day (i think last.. or could be 2nd last), she wrote this poem:

=<>=<>=<>=<>=
soon..
by Marlina Md Isa*

soon...
i will see you...

soon...
i will talk to you...

soon...
i will laugh with you...

yet

soon...
may never come...

soon...
is not guaranteed...

soon...
is not our right...

unless God wills it...
insya Allah

=<>=<>=<>=<>=

*notice the name? yeah.. if you all are going to copy this beautiful simple poem, u better give credit to the author. So copy along her name and the link too, alright? ;)

I was overwhelmed for a while, reading that poem. It's simple but it was a GREAT reminder to me. Termenung kejap.... how true it is.

We plan a lot of stuff: tasks to complete, people to meet, dreams to realize... but most of the time we forget that it'll only happen, if Allah wills it to happen (insyaAllah). Even a thing planned for the next minute. Next hour, jgn cakap ah..

So in everything that we plan, we cannot confidently say, "I WILL", but "InsyaAllah, I will".

But ye shall not will except as Allah wills,- the Cherisher of the Worlds.
Al Quran, At-Takwir 81:29

What was I thinking

On Saturday, during class, I got a call from Masjid Al Khair's Women Committee, asking me to update my particulars. A friend of mine, had asked me to register my name, because she feels that I can contribute to the mosque's activities. That was about a year ago and I have NEVER participated or contributed in any way.

Well, it's because, I'm already wifing, mothering, daughtering, working, studying, enjoying.. you see it's quite packed. So, when the lady asked if I could come down the next day, Sunday to help out in their event (they were giving out the fidyah to the poor), my default reply was 'no, i think I can't make it. I'll be quite busy'. Actually that came with a tinge of guilt, because the 'busy' part was not even confirmed. But I was planning to invite my bro over for iftar.

Come Sunday, my bro couldn't make it for iftar. I find myself lazing at home. Reading, then sleeping, then surfing, then sleeping again..


Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and receive no hurt (not disabled), and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah hath granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who sit (at home). Unto all (in Faith) Hath Allah promised good: But those who strive and fight Hath He distinguished above those who sit (at home) by a special reward;
Al Quran, An Nisaa 4 : 95


'What am I doing?! such a waste of time! Da Ramadhan ni.. buat baik kan pahala berganda2.. so go get your ass to the mosque Now!!' I was telling myself nicely.

I got the green light from hubby to go. Ok.. tak payah nak cerita panjang2.. reached there, I offered to take photographs, cause nobody was doing it. So I became the official photographer instead.

Time satu part tu.. after the presentation of fidyah event, I was going to take the photos of these whole group of the organising members, including the MP (member of parliament), the imam, the mosque head etc etc.. They were going to stand in a long straight line, and If I take from the front - i'd have to go very far back kan... So I told them, I'll take from the side, and asked them to all stand mereng sikit ah.. face me.

At that point I told them.. 'OK good, now, you all put your hands out and do the 'tara kuchah'.

Wait......... who was I talking to again?..... Oh yes, the MP, the IMAM and the mosque head!! And you asked them to do the 'tara kuchah'?!?!?! APA hal, kau suruh IMAM buat tara kuchah?? wah piang!

Excuse me, ME - what were you thinking??? Bulan puasa lagi tau...

Luckily or unluckily, there were some small laughters from some of them. I proceeded to take their photos la, as if I said nothing wrong.

But dalam hati.. i don't know what they must be thinking of this woman photographer, who don't even know them personally.
This is really quite bad for a first timer. I hope they don't ban this 'kongajar' woman from the mosque. I hope they don't see it as kongajar, cause I truely didn't mean it that way. Ni pasal da terbiasa talk and joke like that to colleagues and friends. Tak boleh di bawak2 tau. Ceeehh..

But that aside, I nak praise some things about the event.
1. They had a special event for the children who came with their parents, and a young ustaz was telling stories and conducting quizzes and playing games. The children had fun and they learned too! Alas, I don't even know the ustaz's name.

2. The food prepared for the poor and needy looks sedaaaap.

3. The ceramah given to the poor and needy before the fidyah presentation was good, it's about their self esteem. The participants also felt it was good.

I didn't stay for iftar, cause I had to go back and iftar dengan hubby tersayang yang tengah tunggu kat rumah dengan anak2 ku.

I had a good weekend.